No Fault of Mine

Chapter Thirty-Five

Liam was the last to arrive. I was at the door waiting for him as he drove into the parking lot, and I met him as he pulled into a space. He got out of his pickup and threw his arms around me, "I am sorry, Mia. You've had enough trauma."

"It's been horrific," I said, "but I'm glad you're here."

"I hope I can help," he said. "I should've responded sooner. Barry had called earlier the day you visited Melanie and me and asked me to join him and Art to look for Eddy. You know the four boys were friends in the military, a friendship that deepened as time went by."

"Is that why you left when I started talking about what had been happening to me?"

"Barry's call brought back his death, and it was as if no time had passed. I was fighting the urge to join them. It felt like it was the right thing to do. I'd represent my son and do what I could for his friends. I left without telling Melanie; I knew I wasn't strong enough to face her and do what I knew I should."

"She called me after you left," I said. "She was worried about you."

"I know," he said. "My plan was to call her, but I kept putting it off. I do that sometimes—I put off talking to her when I know what I have to say will distress her." He took off his sunglasses, dropped them on the seat, and put on his Aussie hat. Sometimes, I put off talking about a painful subject, which only makes things more difficult when I finally do."
I took his hand, and we walked into the building in silence.

As we entered the conference room, everyone was already seated. Liam took a seat next to Berry, and I took the only seat remaining at the end of the table. I thanked everyone for coming and then said, "I realize we may have different reasons for what we're doing, but I think the objective is the same. To find Ducain. If we find him, we'll have caught Martin's murderer, found Eddy and my son."

"I agree," Barry said. "Ducain doesn't come out of his cave very often. He probably feels secure where he is. Why take risks?"

"We've certainly looked for him," Art said. "Maybe he's somewhere else by now."

"If he's on the road, it won't be hard for them to find him no matter which direction he took out of town," Liam said. "This place's roadmap makes that perfectly clear."

"I doubt they know the backroads, much less the national forest roads," Barry said. "Ducain is asphalt-trained and probably hasn't considered dirt roads in the high mountains."

"The forest service roads are all dead-end, right? They'd be boxed in...trapped," Liam said. 

"Martin and I hunted those woods, but I'm not an expert."

"Some circle around, but nothing crosses the mountains They could hide up there until things quieted down, I suppose," Art said.

"I doubt Ducain has ever camped in a tent," Barry said. "He wouldn't even think of it."

"Barry, SueAnn said you've been looking for a military buddy you think is being held by DuCain," I said. "What've you discovered about the gang?"

"Most of his gang hang out in the old Summers Lumber Mill south of town," Barry said, "but we don't think that's where Ducain and Eddy are."

"We've snooped around the mill at night. They have lookouts at both entrances, but otherwise, they are vulnerable to intrusion," Art said.

"Yeah, Art did a recon last night," Barry said.

"They're staying in two mid-sized RVs," Art said. "They have three vehicles. I noticed they've taken the Ducain Construction signs off their car doors."